‘The Biology of Belief’ Challenges Scientific Dogma

October 16, 2012

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If you’ve heard of Dr. Bruce Lipton at all, it was likely in connection to the field of epigenetics. His pioneering experimentation with genetic changes at the cellular level brought on by environmental triggers is widely credited as paving the way for the science of epigenetics. But while this field of study is interested only in the ways in which physical changes at the cellular level are passed on to multiple generations of offspring (despite the fact that there are no changes to the underlying DNA), Lipton’s research led him in a slightly different direction. He discovered that there is a connection between the mind and the body that is vastly deeper and more complex than previously believed. His studies in cellular biology showed him that the mind truly can control the state of the body, and it does so through our cells (whether we know it or not). In his breakthrough audio book, ‘The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles’, he brings his findings to the public so that listeners may learn how to gain control of their own minds and bodies.

Lipton is not short on detractors, but this is no surprise. Whenever someone in the scientific community finds a way to turn accepted doctrines on their heads he is going to suffer some skepticism from his peers and the public alike. And the ideas presented in Lipton’s audio book could definitely be termed as revolutionary. In his estimation, cells have memory, which is to say that they can be permanently changed by both internal and external influences. For example, we all know that people who have certain genetic conditions are more likely to pass them along to their offspring than those who lack these hereditary diseases and disorders. This is a widely accepted tenet of cellular biology and genetic study. And over the last several decades it has become known that parents can also pass along a genetic predisposition based on their experiences, such as alcoholism, obesity, and so on. It is this second belief that informs Lipton’s work.

However, he takes his theories even a step further, claiming that the things we believe and the attitudes we embrace can also affect us at a cellular level, changing our bodies from the ground up, so to speak, and passing along emotional and mental traits to offspring. This is the point where most people start shaking their heads in disbelief, but Lipton has the science to back up his claims. We all know that a sort of chemical wire exists between our brains and our bodies, shuttling information back and forth between the two at the cellular level. So why is it so hard to believe that we have the power to control the flow of information throughout our bodies simply by the way we think?

The best thing about Lipton’s audio book is that it makes sense. All of our experiences in life have the potential to change our basic nature, the way we think, feel, and act. And the way we think and feel can have an effect on our health. Our minds and bodies are connected in ways we cannot yet measure or fathom. But Lipton takes a stab in ‘The Biology of Belief’, and listeners might just be astonished by the effect their thoughts and emotions can have on their physical state, not to mention the genetic data they pass on.